Massachusetts business in brief

Thursday

UBS agrees to bigger settlement with Mass.; Judge to leave the SJC to join Suffolk University; State Street adds to its work force

UBS agrees to pay more in settlement

BOSTON – UBS will pay an additional $4.4 million to resolve accusations that it misled a number of Massachusetts cities and towns with the sale of auction-rate securities, bringing the total amount the investment bank will pay to settle the state’s case to nearly $40 million.

The latest settlement amount includes $750,000 to be paid to the state, partly to cover legal costs, and $250,000 to help cities and towns with investment decisions. UBS will also reimburse four municipalities – Norwood, Fall River, Southboro and Woburn – a total of $3.4 million.

The settlement resolves an investigation that Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office had begun in February. Coakley’s staff investigated allegations that UBS representatives had misled municipal agencies regarding whether auction rate securities were a permissible investment for them under state law.

The latest agreement follows a settlement in May between Coakley and UBS in which UBS agreed to return more than $35 million to 17 municipalities and the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.

Coakley maintains that the towns were told that the auction-rate securities would be as liquid as a typical cash investment. While that has been the case historically, the market for auction-rate securities dried up in February.

State high court judge to step down

BOSTON – Judge John Greaney will step down from the Supreme Judicial Court on Dec. 1 to join the faculty of Suffolk University’s law school and serve as its director of the Macaronis Institute for Trial and Appellate Advocacy.

The institute that Greaney will lead was launched in 1999 and offers specialized civil litigation programs to practicing attorneys and law students. Greaney, a 69-year-old Westfield resident, has been a Massachusetts judge since 1974, when he became the presiding judge of the Hampden County Housing Court. He later served as a superior court judge and an appeals court judge.

Canadian rider to promote canton manufacturer

CANTON – Canadian equestrian competitor Selena O’Hanlon will give a high-profile boost to one of the Draper Knitting Co.’s products by using the Draper Equine Therapy Saddle Pad at the Olympics in Beijing next month. O’Hanlon first used the Draper saddle pad on the horse she is riding, Colombo, in March, and has been using it regularly ever since. Canton’s Draper is one of the last locally owned textile companies with a manufacturing plant in the region.

State Street deal to grow its work force

BOSTON – State Street Corp. will add another 70 employees to its massive global work force with a deal to provide back-office services for Lazard Asset Management. Boston’s State Street said on Wednesday that it has reached an agreement to provide outsourcing services for the majority of Lazard’s $134 billion asset management portfolio. About 70 Lazard employees in New York, Germany and the United Kingdom are expected to transfer to State Street as part of the deal.

Hanover company buys 2 more hotels

HANOVER – Linchris Hotel Corp. of Hanover is continuing its shopping spree with the acquisition of the 127-room Rockland Radisson Hotel and the 173-room Milford Sheraton Hotel. Linchris bought both hotels from Ashford Hospitality Trust, according to Hodges Ward Elliott, a hotel brokerage involved in the transaction. The financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

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